“Arise Shine! For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
Behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory shall be seen upon you.”
IS 60:1,2

So much of IS 59-60 is a reflection of our time that it is hard to believe that these words were penned 2800 years ago! Like many of the words of the prophets, though they had an application at the time when they were written, and apply in some ways to every generation, parts are also sealed up until a time of complete fulfillment. That time is now upon us.

Though there has most certainly been “darkness”, even “thick” or “gross darkness”, in every generation, the degree and scope of darkness has become pervasive, ominous, and global in our day in an unprecedented way. Without going into the details of my beliefs on the End Times (my B.Th. thesis was on Paul’s Eschatology), suffice it to say that we should expect greater and greater extremes and contrast to unfold as the End draws near. So while increase in wickedness, opposition, and delusion are inevitable, we must not allow ourselves to be caught unawares. For even as the darkness thickens, light and glory are also being released to us in ways never seen before. The dark will get darker; the light will get lighter. As evil becomes grosser, glory is poured out on us in ways never seen since the world was fashioned.

Thick Darkness Shall Cover the Earth

“But you, brethren, are not in darkness,

so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.” 1 Thess 5:4

Indeed, we are to expect and embrace “the Spirit of glory and of God” to rest/fall upon us (1 PT 4:14). Joel describes the period of the greatest outpouring of God’s Spirit as the “great (or awesome) and terrible day of the Lord” (2:11;31). So is it a great day or a terrible day? Yes! It is a terrible day for some, but it is an awesome day for us. It will be a time of judgment, but also of God bestowing better gifts on His children. In that hour, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (v.32). Nations and Kings who are longing for righteousness will recognize it in us, and will “come to your light…and to the brightness of your rising” (IS 60:3).

We desperately need to hear this. As the persecution and marginalization of Christians becomes more pronounced, and the name of Christ is maligned, as liberties are removed, as aggression against righteousness heightens, something inside of us should be screaming “Hallelujah!” cause we know what this is a sign of, and how it is going to turn out in the end. Yes, it signals a call to Arise and Shine.